Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And he came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this might be.
And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God.
And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call His name Jesus.
He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David;
and He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end.
And Mary said unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee: wherefore also the holy thing which is begotten shall be called the Son of God.
And behold, Elisabeth thy kinswoman, she also hath conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her that was called barren.
For with God no word shall be impossible.
And Mary said, Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:
and Jesus also was bidden, and His disciples, to the marriage.
And when the wine failed, the mother of Jesus saith unto Him, They have no wine.
And Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come.
His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it.
Now there were six waterpots of stone set there according to the Jews’ manner of purifying, containing two or three firkins apiece.
Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.
And He saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the ruler of the feast. And they bare it.
And when the ruler of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and knew not whence it was, but the servants that had drawn the water knew, the ruler of the feast calleth the bridegroom,
and saith unto him, Every man setteth on first the good wine; and when men have drunk freely, then that which is worse: thou hast kept the good wine until now.
This beginning of His signs did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed on Him.
While He was yet speaking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and His brethren stood without, seeking to speak to Him.
And one said unto Him, Behold, Thy mother and Thy brethren stand without, seeking to speak to Thee.
But He answered and said unto him that told Him, Who is My mother? and who are My brethren?
And He stretched forth His hand towards His disciples, and said, Behold, My mother and My brethren!
For whosoever shall do the will of My Father Who is in heaven, he is My brother, and sister, and mother.
There stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple standing by whom He loved, He saith unto His mother, Woman, behold, thy son!
Then saith He to the disciple, Behold, thy mother! And from that hour the disciple took her unto his own home.
These all with one accord continued stedfastly in prayer, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brethren.
In the past, we have been considering together this matter of the change of time. About two thousand years ago, God was going to change the time. He was going to bring His Son into this world.
Because of this, you find that God looked for vessels—vessels whom He could use to bring in His Son. You probably still remember that John the Baptist was a vessel whom God chose to prepare the way of the Lord.
But John the Baptist was not the only one. We find that there was a remnant among the Jews who really looked for the consolation of Israel. It was these people, that remnant, who really brought in the Lord.
And, of course, when you think of that remnant who brought in the Lord into this world, you cannot forget Mary, the one who bore the Child.
God was looking for a vessel through whom His Son could be brought into this world. There were many virgins in the land of Judea and in Galilee at that time, but God’s eyes came upon one virgin who lived in a remote place on the hills of Nazareth.
Now, she was a descendant of the house of David, of a noble royal family. But at the time, she was so humbled that she lived in Nazareth, and she was betrothed to Joseph, who was also of the house of David, of the royal family. Yet, at that time, Joseph was just a carpenter in that room.
They were in a very humble state, even though they belonged to the house of David. During that time, the one who sat on the throne in Jerusalem was an Idumean, Herod. He was put on that throne by a foreign power, the Roman Empire.
By all outward appearance, Mary was a humble woman. Yet God did not look upon outward appearance. God always looks upon the heart. There, in this virgin, God saw a perfect heart towards Him.
Outwardly she was humble, but inwardly she was noble in the sight of God. So God sent the angel Gabriel to her, and Gabriel greeted her, saying, “Hail, thou favored of God. The Lord is with thee. Thou art blessed among women.”
When she heard this salutation, she was troubled in her heart. Why? Because she could not understand why an angel should address her in such a way. In other words, she did not know her greatness.
She was great in the eyes of God, and yet she did not know it. Because she did not know it, she was surprised by such a greeting. She thought that such a greeting should be addressed to a noble one, a great one—not to her, just a virgin hidden somewhere in the hills.
She was nothing in her own eyes. Therefore, she was troubled by such a salutation. My dear brothers and sisters, some people know that they are great, and because they know that they are great, they are no longer great in the eyes of God.
True greatness before the Lord is something that is hidden from your own eyes, and that is truly great. You remember the story of Moses—how he stayed forty days and forty nights before the Lord. Because of that, his face shone, and he did not know it.
How often we try to look in the mirror and see if our face really shines. That is the reason why it does not. True greatness is coupled with humility.
So far as men were concerned, Mary was a humble woman, and she was humble in her heart. Yet she was really great in the eyes of God.
So the angel said, “You are the favored one of God, because God is going to use you to bring in His Son, Who will sit upon the throne of David, and His kingdom shall know no end.” Such a great privilege came upon this humble woman.
We know that, four thousand years earlier, in the Garden of Eden, immediately after the fall of man, God promised that the seed of the woman should come to bruise Satan’s head, and Satan should bruise His heel.
This seed of the woman had been promised for four thousand years. Now, finally, this promise of God was to be fulfilled. It was a tremendous privilege.
I do not believe that there can be a greater privilege that could ever come to a woman than this privilege: to have this promise of God, the promise of salvation, fulfilled through the womb of a woman.
Mary did ask, “How could it be?” because she did not know any man. Even though she was engaged to Joseph, they had not come together yet. So she asked, “How can it be, seeing I know not a man?”
Now, in asking such a question, it was not a sign of unbelief. You know, in the same chapter, when that same angel appeared to Zacharias and told him that he would have a son, Zacharias said, “How can it be?” And it was unbelief, because God judged him.
But in this case, it was different. Mary asked, “How could it be?” It was not a sign of unbelief. It was simply something so tremendous that she could not understand how it could happen.
In other words, there was no unbelief in her heart. But because of her ignorance, she wanted to know how it could happen. Brothers and sisters, sometimes when we ask a question, it may be a sign of unbelief. At other times, you may ask the question, and yet it is not unbelief. It is something that God will explain to you.
The fine line actually is in the heart. If you judge by the question, you may think that it is the same question: Why should God judge the one and accept the other? But actually, you find that it is a matter of the heart.
In the heart of Mary, there was no question. But in her mind, she could not understand how it could happen. Because of her asking, she was shown the way in which it would happen.
God said, “The Holy Spirit shall overshadow thee,” and that is the way in which you shall conceive and bring forth a Child. As the angel explained it to her, Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.”
Now, dear brothers and sisters, we must remember that even though it was a great privilege that came to her, with that privilege came a great problem. Why? Because according to the law, a woman who conceived without being married was supposed to have committed fornication.
If it were so, she was to be taken out and stoned in public. How could Mary explain? There was no way to explain it to the world. There was no way to explain it to her betrothed, Joseph, if this should happen.
There was no explanation. Not only was her life in danger, but her relationship with Joseph would be ended, practically speaking. Her parents would suffer terribly.
In other words, she would lose everything so far as the world and human society were concerned. She would lose everything if she agreed to what the angel had said.
So here you find there was no hesitation and there was no reservation. Why? Because Mary’s heart was perfect towards God.
Her heart was so perfect towards God that the moment she knew it was God’s will, and that God had a way to do it, immediately she yielded herself to God and said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.”
She knew her place before God. She knew that before God she was just a handmaid, a slave girl. Whatever the Master wanted, that was what should be done. “Be it unto me according to thy word.”
She did not consider her reputation. She did not consider her relationship with Joseph. She did not consider her life. She did not consider what the world would say.
She was willing to give up everything, even the love of Joseph, whom she loved dearly, for the sake that the Son of God might be brought into the world. She was willing to give up everything that God’s will might be done.
It was because of this that she was blessed among women.
Another thing we have to know is that, because it was such a strange and yet great affair, her faith needed to be strengthened. So the angel gave her a confirmation, and the confirmation was from her relative, Elizabeth.
Elizabeth was in her old age, beyond the possibility of having a child, and yet God made it possible. So, if that was the case, then it would be possible with Mary.
You find that there was confirmation. Immediately after that, Mary went to visit Elizabeth, and it was fully confirmed. Anything that comes from God will be confirmed.
You do not need to be afraid. You do not need to rush into anything without being confirmed. It is right to have the will of God confirmed.
But the point that we would like to see is this: here was a woman whom God wanted to use to bring in His Son. She was willing to give up everything for that purpose, and for this reason she was blessed among women.
Brothers and sisters, if we can apply this in a broad sense to us today, you will find that the principle is the same. God is going to bring in His Son into the world again. God is going to bring in His King into this world.
But through whom can He bring in His Son? He needs a vessel too. He needs a corporate vessel, and the corporate vessel is the church.
The church is to bring in God’s King into this world. That is the mission of the church. Corporately, it is the mission of the church; individually, it is the mission of every believer.
For the Son of God to come back to this earth and bring in His kingdom, He needs the church. He needs His own people to bring Him in.
But in order that this may be done, there is a heart attitude that is required of us. Our attitude is, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.”
It is a great privilege, brothers and sisters, both for the church corporately and for us as individuals, that God will use us to bring in the King, to change the time, and to bring in the kingdom.
It is a great privilege, but there is something involved. The question is: are we willing to give up everything for that purpose? Is that purpose of God great enough for us to give up everything?
Or should we consider our own life, our relationships, our position, our name, or whatever it may be? Should we consider ourselves?
If we know that this is the will of God, and we are sure of it, then we should have a heart attitude and say, “Lord, we are Your handmaids. Be it unto us according to Your word.”
In other words, are we willing to give up everything that Christ may be brought into this world as King?
Now, this is looking towards the future. But so far as spiritual reality is concerned, even at this hour, how can Christ be born and manifested to the world? It has to be through His church, through His own people.
In other words, it is our responsibility that our lives may manifest Christ. Our lives may bring forth, as it were, Christ, that the world may have Him.
We are to bring forth the Son. In order that this may be spiritually true in our daily life, we should have this daily attitude: “Lord, we are Your handmaids, Your servants. Be it unto us according to Your word.”
How we need to yield our lives—absolute yielding—that our lives shall be completely yielded to the Lord, that His purpose may be fully fulfilled. This will enable us to be counted among those who are blessed of the Lord.
Now, this is only one side of the matter. What I want to continue with is the other side in the life of Mary. You find that Mary yielded herself to God, and she became the mother of Jesus. What an honor!
Even today, we honor her as such. Of course, in the world, some people may honor her more than she should be honored, even calling her the mother of God. Now, God does not have a mother. She is the mother of Jesus.
But we do find that, because of her absolute surrender to God, God used her in such a mighty and unique way that she is blessed among women, and we should honor her as such.
But not because of that did she have a place even higher than the Lord Jesus. As you read the Scripture, you will find that even though she was the mother of Jesus, yet in a very true sense she was a disciple of Christ.
On several occasions, we can see how she learned in the school of Christ.
You remember when our Lord Jesus was twelve years old. It was the time of His bar mitzvah. Our Lord was made a son of the law.
When the family went to Jerusalem to worship the Lord, after the worship time was over and they returned, the Lord remained in Jerusalem because He was a son of the law. He had a right to ask questions and a right to answer questions in the temple. So He stayed behind.
On the third day, His parents found Him in the temple. Mary, being a mother—you know the motherly heart—said, “Why did You do this to us? Your father and I were so anxious about You. Why did You do such a thing to us?”
You remember that the Lord Jesus said, “Why did you do this to Me? Did you not know that I must be occupied with My Father’s business?” Yet the Lord Jesus, because He was only twelve, obeyed His earthly parents. He went back with them and obeyed them.
Mary did not understand when the Lord Jesus said, “Must I not be occupied with My Father’s business?” But there was one good thing about Mary: she kept it in her heart.
Mary had a good trait in her life. When she heard something that she did not fully understand, she did not simply dismiss it and say, “This is too hard.” No.
Whenever she heard something that she did not understand, she kept it in her spirit and pondered over it in her mind. That is a very good character.
You remember even before that, when Joseph and Mary came to the temple to offer the firstborn to God, Simeon took the Baby in his hands and began to say things. Of course, Mary did not fully understand.
You remember also the shepherds. When Jesus was born and the shepherds came, they praised the Lord because God’s promise of a Savior had been accomplished. Mary did not fully understand. She knew in part, but she did not fully understand, and she kept these things in her spirit and pondered over them in her mind.
To be a disciple, this trait is very important. The first thing required of a disciple is the ear—not the hand, not the feet, but the ear.
To be a disciple, you must learn to hear and to listen. But, of course, not for something to come in one ear and go out the other. That is not listening; that is not hearing.
To be a disciple, you have to know how to listen and how to hear. Invariably, you will hear things that you do not fully understand. If you could fully understand, you would not need to listen anymore—you would know it.
To be a disciple means that there are many things you do not know or do not fully understand. Because of that, you have to listen to the Master.
When you hear the Master, of course, you will not be able to fully understand immediately. It takes time. Therefore, whatever you hear, you need to keep it in your heart or in your spirit. You need to ponder over it.
You need to pray over it. You need to seek the Lord about it until, gradually, revelation is given. Then you fully understand. That is the way of learning.
There are people who, when they hear something they do not understand, simply dismiss it and say, “It is too hard,” and goodbye.
When our Lord Jesus was on earth, He found such people. In John 6, when the Lord Jesus began to explain to them, “Seek not for the food that perishes, but seek the food that remains forever. I am the bread of life that came from heaven,” these people had come to Him for physical bread.
They began to say, “Now this is hard. We do not understand. How can we eat Him? How can we drink Him? This is impossible.”
Who is a true disciple of Christ? A true disciple of Christ is one who will stay with the Lord even though he does not fully understand.
A true disciple of the Lord is one who is willing to listen—willing to listen to things that he or she does not fully understand. But not because you do not fully understand do you reject it.
You may not understand, but you keep it in your heart. You ponder over it. You seek the Lord for understanding. This is the way to learn.
Here you find that Mary had this wonderful trait. Because of that, she was able to learn a great deal.
Dear brothers and sisters, we cannot be careless before God. A careless person does not learn. It takes carefulness to learn.
We need to be careful before God. We should keep things in our hearts and ponder over these things until it pleases God to reveal His mind to us and give us understanding.
This is something that is very important in the life of a disciple.
Number two: as a disciple, one is put under the discipline of the Lord. You cannot divorce discipleship from discipline.
A disciple is not only one who hears and learns. A disciple is also one who is under training, under discipline.
Of course, the Lord will discipline or train each of us differently, because our problems are different. In the case of Mary, you find that she had a tremendous problem as a follower of the Lord.
Why? Because according to the flesh, she was mother to Jesus; but according to the Spirit, she was a disciple of Christ. How are you going to reconcile these two relationships? How are you going to put these relationships into proper balance?
Oftentimes, you find that these two relationships clash. As the mother of Jesus, she had a natural claim upon Jesus. She thought that she had a certain privilege over Jesus because she was His mother.
But as a disciple of Christ, she had to obey the Lord and not try to force the Lord. How are you going to reconcile these two things?
In our case, of course, it may not be that acute, yet it is the same thing. Why? Because there is the flesh in us, and the flesh in us always tries to come in and interfere or intervene in spiritual things.
Our Lord Jesus was thirty years old. When He was thirty years old, He left home, answered the call of God, and began to preach.
Then one day, you find that there was a marriage in Cana. The mother of Jesus was invited, and Jesus and His disciples were also invited. So they were at a marriage feast.
In the old days, marriage feasts were very different. In modern times, I feel it is much more convenient, because after a marriage you probably have a reception, some peanuts, or some cookies.
But in the old days, you could not think of a marriage like that. After a marriage, they would be feasting for three days—or some even for seven days.
Relatives and friends would all come and stay there and celebrate with you for three days, perhaps for seven days. Therefore, when you had a marriage, you had to have large provisions. They would eat there and stay there.
Evidently, this young couple must have been very popular. They expected certain people to come and had provided for them, but evidently more people came.
Of course, when more people came, you could not say, “Now, go out.” So they had to entertain these people, and in entertaining them, the wine became less and less until there was almost none.
In the old days, at a Jewish feast, if there was no wine, you could not think about it.
The mother of Jesus must have been a close friend of that family. The guests did not know about it; they should not have known about it. But the mother of Jesus knew because she must have been very close to the family.
What should be done in such a situation? Well, Mary thought, surely Jesus could do something. She had faith in her Son. She believed that her Son could do something.
So she came to the Lord—to her Son—and said, “They have no wine.” Now, that was a suggestion. In other words, “They have no wine. Do something. You can do it. Help them out.”
That is natural. She was the mother of Jesus. He was her Son. She had faith in her Son that her Son could do it. So she simply asked her Son, “Why do You not help?”
But how did the Lord answer? The Lord did not say, “Mother.” The Lord said, “Woman.”
Now, do not misunderstand the Lord. The word “woman” here is not a harsh word. It is a very loving and intimate term.
The Lord did not say “mother” because He could not. Why? Because at home, Mary was mother to Jesus. But in the work of God, no natural relationship could enter into the work of God.
If you allow any natural relationship to enter into the work of God, it will spoil God’s work. Therefore, the Lord said, “Woman.” He did not call her “mother.”
“Woman, I love you, but Mine hour is not yet come. This is not for you to dictate. In My Father’s work, it is for the Father to give orders.”
If the Father in heaven has not given the order, no one can give an order, because it is the work of God. So the Lord rejected her suggestion and said, “Mine hour is not yet come.”
“You cannot interfere with this. You have no claim upon Me, because in the work, the Father is everything. I cannot do anything without the Father’s word. You cannot command Me to do anything. In the work of God, I have to look to the Father.”
Mary understood it. It was a rejection, but look at how Mary took it. Mary may have been hurt. The mother’s heart was probably hurt.
A mother always likes her child to do something that brings some fame. When the Lord refused to do that, of course the mother’s heart was hurt. But here you find Mary immediately understood her place.
She turned to the servants and said, “Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it.” He is the Lord. I, as His mother, cannot command Him. He is the Lord. You have to listen to Him. If He says something, do it.
At that moment, the Lord told the servants what to do. Here you find one case in which Mary was put under discipline. It was not easy, but she accepted it, and because she accepted it, the Lord was able to perform that miracle.
Let me give you another case. We find it in Matthew 12, Mark 3, and Luke 8. At that time, the Lord was very busy. Great crowds came to Him.
The Lord was so busy ministering to this great crowd that He and His disciples had no time to eat. They were so busy in ministry that they had no time even for food.
When the news came to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and His brethren, evidently His brethren must have made a suggestion. This is my thought, because His brethren did not believe in Him.
Mary believed in Him, but His brethren did not believe in Him. When they heard that Jesus was so busy in ministry that He had no time to eat, they said, “Our brother must be mad. He must be beside Himself.”
“It is all right to minister, but you still have to eat. You should not minister to such an extent that you do not even eat. You must be mad. You must be a fanatic. You have gone to extremes. You must be crazy.”
Somehow they suggested this to Mary, the mother of Jesus. Of course, the mother’s heart responded. Her Son was not eating. Oh no, something had to be done.
So Mary and her other children went to find Jesus. They wanted to get Him out, that He might not go to extremes.
But because the crowd was so great, they could not get to Him. So they sent word to the Lord Jesus. The word came to the Lord and said, “Your mother and brethren are waiting outside. They want to speak to You.”
What did the Lord say? The Lord said, “Who is My mother? Who are My brethren?” Then He looked around at the people and said, “Whosoever shall do the will of My Father, he is My brother, and sister, and mother.”
Outwardly, you find that our Lord Jesus did something very cruel. He rejected His mother and His brethren. But, of course, no. Why?
Because in the work of God, no fleshly relationship should enter. That is the reason why, again and again, our Lord says that if you love your father, mother, brother, sister, wife, children, or even yourself more than Him, you cannot be His disciple.
You have to deny all and take up the cross. Otherwise, you cannot be His disciple. Now, this does not mean that the Lord does not honor human relationships. Certainly, He does.
But when you come into the realm of God and His work, then you find that no flesh can touch it. It has to be set aside.
That is the meaning of the cross. The cross has to work in our lives so that anything that is of the flesh, whether it is your own or whether it is those around you, has to be cut off. Only in that sense can God’s will be done.
Mary was again put under discipline. Naturally speaking, for her Son to say such a thing concerning His mother—how would a mother feel? But Mary took it. She learned something.
Finally, when our Lord Jesus was crucified on the cross, His disciples fled. Only John came back, along with a few women, and Mary, the mother of Jesus, was there.
Now, just think of that. She would not leave her Son, even at that moment. That was motherly love. Who wants to be with the crucified? It is a shame.
But there was Mary, the mother of Jesus, at the foot of the cross of Christ. Indeed, it was as if a sword must have pierced her soul. Christ was crucified on the cross, and as a mother, she was crucified at the foot of the cross.
Then you find the Lord Jesus. When the Lord saw Mary there, He spoke to her and said, “Woman, behold, thy son.” Then He said to John, “Behold, thy mother.”
Now here you see something. It is true that, when you come into the spiritual realm, this natural relationship must be dealt with. Otherwise, you cannot follow the Lord.
But that does not mean that it makes you inhuman. Natural affection is something given by God. When people do not have natural affection, it is considered a sinful thing. You find that in Romans 1: “Without natural affection.”
Even though our Lord Jesus at that time was on the cross, in tremendous agony and suffering, yet even then our Lord thought of His mother.
He called her “Woman” again. “Woman, because of the work of God, I had to be crucified. I could not think of you, and because of you I could not refuse to go to the cross, merely not to hurt your heart. I had to do it.”
“And yet, I have to provide for you. So, woman, behold thy son.” He did not mean, “Behold Me.” No, “thy son” meant John.
John was going to take His place in caring for her. From that day, John took Mary into his home and treated her as his own mother.
Here you find how balanced our Lord was. On the one hand, there is a human relationship that is proper and ought to be maintained. If it is not maintained, it is sinful.
Yet, on the other hand, when it comes into the spiritual realm, you find that natural relationships cannot intervene or interfere with the work of God.
Brothers and sisters, this is where we need to learn together. In our personal life and in the history of the church, you will find countless examples in which human relationships, natural relationships, and fleshly relationships begin to have power and influence over people, decisions, situations, and work.
Whenever such things happen, you find that God’s work suffers. Spiritual life suffers. There are conflicts and cases of conflict.
Even in your own life, as you look back, you can see it. Human hands always like to come in and have a part, to have a claim, to have a right.
But remember, when it comes to spiritual work, no human being should touch it. But that does not make us inhuman.
People can go to extremes. Some people are just too human, so that the divine cannot get through. Other people become so super-spiritual, so pseudo-spiritual, that the human is lost.
This is something that we have to learn in the school of Christ. Here you find that Mary learned her lesson. Therefore, you find that she was among the one hundred and twenty who gathered together in the upper room.
On the day of Pentecost, she was a member of the body of Christ. So may the Lord help us.
Shall we pray?
Our heavenly Father, we do thank Thee for our sister Mary. She is blessed among women. Thou hast used her in a very unique way that no other woman had.
We do thank and praise Thee for her perfect heart towards Thee, for her absolute yieldedness to Thee. We thank Thee that these things did not puff her up, but instead she was a faithful follower of Thee.
Thou didst not spare her from being disciplined, and yet how tender Thou art towards her. Oh, how we praise Thee that Thou hast truly trained her in such a way that she was found in the church.
Lord, we ask that all these may be real lessons to us, that we too may be used of Thee, and that we too may be trained by Thee. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.